Dye lasers are known and used in many applications. Despite recent advances in diode laser technology, and the development of widely tunable solid state devices, e.g., Ti:sapphire and alexandrite lasers, it is likely that dye laser usage will continue. As a tunable source of radiation, dye lasers span from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Dye lasers are inherently simple, efficient, and reliable devices. Numerous pump sources can be used to excite the dye lasing medium; and these pump sources lead to pulse widths from picoseconds to microseconds. Dye lasers can also be designed to produce either broadband or narrow linewidth emission, and are further capable of high peak powers, high average powers, and large energy pulses. The sum of these attractive features ensures an important role in dye laser usage for many years.
Despite the attractive features of dye lasers, the liquid medium of the dye laser host is a serious drawback. The laser dye is typically dissolved in an organic solvent which is untidy to work with and is often hazardous to the health of the user. Liquid dye solutions also require large dye/solvent reservoirs and pumps which increase the size and cost of dye laser systems.
It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a solid state dye laser which reduces the afore-mentioned drawbacks of conventional liquid medium dye laser hosts.
Another object of the invention is to provide a dye laser host utilizing solid state technology and which is less costly to manufacture and maintain as compared to existing dye lasers.
Still another object of the invention is to provide improvements to dye laser technology.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in the description which follows.